The Taylor Swift Effect

03:53 PM Feb 24, 2024 | Drishti Swami

 

Taylor Swift is a once in a generation music sensation with one of the most successful careers ever, which is almost comparable to all-time greats like Michael Jackson, Madonna or The Beatles. 

In fact, in many areas, she seems to have outperformed even the all-time greats, as witnessed earlier this month when she won her fourth Album of the Year (AOTY) Grammy, surpassing Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simons to become the artist with the most amount of AOTY wins. 

Taylor Swift has won almost 14 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, 40 American Music Awards, 40 Billboard Music Awards, and 23 MTV Video Music Awards in her career of over 18 years. 

Several world-renowned universities like Harvard, Stanford and the New York University started offering courses on her body of work to study her marvelous career, something previously unheard of. The professors reported that the classes filled up within minutes as excited students leaped at the opportunity to incorporate their favourite singer into their academics. 

ALSO READ: What’s Wrong With Kids These Days?

Swift has been known to be a master songwriter for her incredible ability to write meaningful lyrics and turning it into a song that listeners are enraptured by, as evident from her streaming numbers which have been off the charts as every album she drops, including surprise albums, automatically goes to number 1, with over a million physical copies sold in an era when record and CD players are not even widespread.   

Astonishingly, even her re-recorded albums have sold just as many copies if not more as she put several previously unreleased songs “from the vault” in the new versions, during her journey to regain control of her music. 

Swift previously the journey of re-recording her albums after she was denied the chance of owning her original albums, which were instead sold to Scooter Braun, a man she accused of constantly bullying her throughout her career. The new versions gained much popularity across the world and seems to have introduced her music to a new generation of youngsters. 

However, Swift herself has also not been free from criticism as many often criticise her for only writing about heartbreak or her relationships but the popularity of songs like ‘The Man’, ‘Long Live’, ‘Marjorie’, ‘You’re On Your Own Kid’ or ‘Seven’ seems to have dispelled the myth. 

Another criticism she has been facing recently is regarding the carbon emissions from her private jets which she uses to travel across the world. Although, since her name is not included even in the Top 30 people in 2023 with the most private jet emissions, this criticism seems misdirected. 

Click here To Join Our WhatsApp Channel

Currently, she is on the Australia leg of her Eras Tour, which has grossed over a billion dollars worldwide. Swift has been credited for reviving economies because the countries she has visited saw an influx of visitors as her fans rushed to see their favorite popstar and enjoy the over three-hour long concert. 

The Eras Tour has been a worldwide cultural phenomenon as Swift gave a medley of performances on stage, incorporating every album she has released and re-released as chapters of her life. The concert also had surprises for her fans as she has been singing two or three ‘surprise’ songs to keep the excitement alive as most of her fans have the entire setlist memorized.  

Swift has always focused on cultivating a deep relationship with her fans since the beginning of her career and can always be heard thanking her fans in nearly every award acceptance speech. Her team used to frequently prganize special fan meets and she would send invitations to a select group of fans inviting them to her house for secret sessions before an album release. Many of her older fans have grown up with her, causing a sense of connection, while every fan meet has been a success as most fans have come out with an added sense of love and appreciation describing her as “lovely and a kind person.”  

Talkshow hosts like Stephen Colbert have admitted the same on national television as they described Swift meeting their daughter. “I love Taylor Swift to the day I die and I would put on armor and follow her into battle,” Colbert told audiences on his show, a sentiment which can be heard echoing throughout her fanbase.

(All views and opinions expressed in the article are the author’s own)